Throwing uke just means moving uke sufficiently away from uke's own center (imaginary plumb line from uke's hara). That lowers the bar for some ways of throwing uke to just making uke move away from his/her center.

Atemi can sometimes move uke. Some people like to make a false distinction about whether nage moved uke with atemi or whether uke moved himself/herself. If you insist on sharpening that distinction, then you have failed to understand the "Ai" in "Aikido."

Conceded: every uke and every throw is different. In some situations no-touch throws are impossible. Only fools and philosophers talk about what is impossible in any and all situations.